RIO DE JANEIRO: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) today announced a collaborative agreement that makes the world’s largest tyre and rubber company the first Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel. The new, ground-breaking digital platform, where fans can experience the power of sport and the Olympic Movement all year round, will launch worldwide on Sunday 21 August following the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 2016. The four-year partnership between Bridgestone and the IOC extends through to 2020.
“We are delighted that our Worldwide TOP Partner, Bridgestone, has become an Olympic Channel Founding Partner,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Bridgestone has demonstrated its support for the Olympic Movement and belief in the Olympic values through its long-term commitment as a Worldwide TOP Partner, and through this new agreement we look forward to working closely with them to bring the Olympic Channel to fans around the world.”
“This is a very exciting time for Bridgestone as our Worldwide Olympic Partnership marks the first truly global marketing platform in our company’s history, and the Olympic Games Rio 2016 – the first ever in South America – are our first as a Worldwide TOP Partner. It is fitting that we also are the first Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel,” said Masaaki Tsuya, CEO and Representative Executive Officer, Bridgestone Corporation. “The Olympic Movement is universal and we continue to reaffirm Bridgestone’s longstanding support for sport and our belief that the core principles of Olympism – and the world’s greatest athletes – should be celebrated every day of the year.”
A Worldwide TOP Partner since 2014, Bridgestone is strengthening its commitment to the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Channel mission, outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020, to reach audiences around the world, beyond the Olympic Games period, 365 days a year. As a Founding Partner, the company will play a key role in enabling the development of the Olympic Channel and will work with the Olympic Channel team to put content into the hands of fans anytime, anywhere, and on any device.
At the outset, Bridgestone will serve as the presenting partner of the Olympic Channel’s “Against All Odds”, an eight-episode documentary series that demonstrates the very embodiment of the Olympic spirit and follows eight athletes. Each half-hour episode will focus on one athlete, offering a first-person account of a key turning point, and how personal will and determination helped them to overcome adversity and reach their goals. The first episode in the series will premiere on 21 August, when the Olympic Channel launches.
Support for “Against All Odds”, and the Olympic Channel as a whole, furthers Bridgestone’s proud history of innovation and its more than 100 years of sporting heritage – and also deepens the company’s engagement with the passionate, performance-oriented fans who follow the Olympic Games and sport around the world.
Bridgestone proudly became an official Worldwide Olympic Partner of the IOC on 13 June 2014. The 10-year partnership will see Bridgestone serve as a TOP Partner at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, which is where the company’s global headquarters are located, the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, and the Olympic Games in 2024. The partnership also includes support for the next three Youth Olympic Games, the IOC and National Olympic Committees around the world.
